ITCH Program Overview

It is hard to believe that it has been a full year since the inception of this program. ITCH was a dream of my late husband, Dr. James Gieske. Ruth Ann Jones, RN, EdD, Cynthia Watson, RN, and I, through consultation with Mary Jordan, have developed that dream.

Our Mission

ITCH’s mission is to teach and enlighten middle school students about possible careers in healthcare, thereby fulfilling a growing deficit in healthcare workers from and for our community.

Our Vision

Our present healthcare system needs talented and trained individuals to fill the much-needed open positions throughout the five-county region that it serves. The new Easton Hospital facility is projected to open in 2028. This timeline matches the year for our first ITCH class students’ graduation from high school. This program is designed to “GROW OUR OWN”; to encourage youth who have been raised on the Eastern Shore to remain on the Shore. In doing so, we will open young minds to job opportunities previously unexplored, utilizing as much hands-on experience in a classroom setting as possible.

How many 12-year-olds do you know who have been versed in the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) and have been taught the basics of adult and infant CPR? And they are proud of it! The dream was to build an educational and financial pipeline directed from middle school students through high school with incentives available so that well-deserving graduating students interested in a career in healthcare can be prepared. This preparation may be through career and technology high school education, or classes at a community college or 4-year college program post-high school graduation.

History

The ITCH fund was started in memory of my husband. His obituary raised $16,021 one year ago. This money is invested at the Mid-Shore Community Foundation in Easton. In our first year, we used 21% of these funds for office supplies, shirts for graduates, business logo stickers, etc. We elected to do no further fundraising until we had a year behind us. We used our time sticking to what we are good at: teaching, mentoring, inspiring students, and enjoying watching the lights we turned on. We dream of using the remaining donated money for a scholarship for a graduate of the first ITCH program.

Progress to Date

Our team has built a bureau of 72 speakers who volunteer their time to teach students about their healthcare careers. In addition, we have developed relationships and a contact list of 125 individuals or organizations that are interested in the success of ITCH.

Partner Organizations

Below are just a few of those organizations we have partnered with:

  • UM Shore Regional Health
  • Mid-Shore Community Foundation
  • Easton Elementary Community School Officials
  • Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center (AHEC)
  • Multicultural Resource Center
  • Building African American Minds (BAAM)
  • Foundation of Hope
  • Talbot County Public Schools
  • Caroline County Public Schools
  • Dorchester County Public Schools
  • Talbot Emergency Services
  • Caroline County Emergency Services
  • Midshore Regional Council
  • People for Change Coalition
  • Talbot Mentors
  • Chesapeake College

We recognized the need for these rising students to have someone to coach and mentor them along their journey. To that end, we developed a job description for a “Career Buddy.” These volunteers will work with 9th through 12th grade students interested in a specific healthcare career path to help guide them through their high school years.

We also have an urgent need in our five-county region for Spanish-speaking employees in the Emergency Medical Services field. I believe at present there are no 911 dispatchers nor ambulance drivers who are fluent in Spanish. There are several avenues to become trained for roles within the Emergency Medical Services: dispatcher, volunteer firefighter, emergency medical technician, paramedic, ambulance drivers, etc. We aim to set up internships and shadowing for bilingual Hispanic students to prepare for these jobs.

Programs Offered

Within this first year, ITCH offered the following programs:

  • July 10 - July 20, 2023: We began ITCH with a 2-week pilot program at the Easton Middle School.
  • February 5 – June 10, 2024: We offered a program at BAAM every Monday evening following the school calendar. ITCH provided speakers for 13 sessions in addition to a tour of Chesapeake College Professions and Athletics Center (HPAC) where youth were introduced to various simulation labs for healthcare careers.
  • March 13 and March 22, 2024: We offered two sessions to youth at the Easton YMCA.
  • June 28, 2024: We offered a half-day speakers panel at the Summer Youth Employment Program offered to students from all five mid-shore counties at the Cambridge Community Center.
  • July 8 – 31, 2024: We participated in the 4-week Summer Career Enrichment Program (SCEP) in partnership with Midshore Regional Council and People for Change Coalition. The program was held Monday through Thursday each week at Colonel Richardson High School.

With the above programs, by the end of the first year, ITCH offered courses to 88 middle school youth, designed the first shadowing experience at the Orthopedic Center, and assigned three students to a Career Buddy.

Next Steps

We have partnered with UM Shore Regional Health (SRH) and will offer ITCH classes starting this fall at three SRH hospital locations: Cambridge Pavilion, Chestertown Hospital, and Easton Hospital. We have learned that this age group responds best to visual demonstrations, and at the hospital sites, we will be able to expand our “hands-on” teaching with access to more equipment. This will also make small group tours to specialty areas easier to schedule. Volunteer staff will not have to travel from their worksite.

The fall sessions will be offered September through June. Each 90-minute class will include an introduction to a specific career, guest speaker(s) from the chosen specialty, hands-on learning, and department tours. We are also going to expand our outreach beyond middle school to high school students and invite private school students and homeschoolers to join.

What we have discovered is something simple and critically important: These young brains “DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY DO NOT KNOW.” It is empowering to watch them discover themselves through learning.

Our Ask

We are in need of a well-designed website, community outreach, and assistance with administrative tasks. At the start of the second year, we are eager to obtain funding for a part-time employee to manage our phone inquiries, design and maintain our website, and manage our marketing and social media outreach.

Currently, our ITCH program is run by an all-volunteer staff of Judith Gieske, MD, Ruth Ann Jones, RN, EdD, Cynthia Watson, RN, and Mary Jordan, in consultation with numerous volunteer consultants.

For more information about how you can help, please contact Dr. Judith Gieske at judigieske@gmail.com.

Donations

The ITCH Fund is a component fund of Mid-Shore Community Foundation, a public foundation designated as a 501(c)(3) charity. Donations to the Fund are tax-deductible as allowed by law. A copy of Mid-Shore Community Foundation’s financial statement is available at www.mscf.org or by calling 410-820-8175. Information about Mid-Shore submitted under the Maryland Charitable Solicitations Act can be obtained from the Office of the Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401.